{"id":"26110083127","number":"26110083127","name":"christina bertea","source_name":"christina bertea","organization":"","posted":"2026-10-22","received":"2026-10-21","body":"It is known that RF energy is dangerous when it heats tissue, so keeping exposure below the heating threshold has been the “safety” goal since the 1990's. However, “The Federal Communications Commission’s safety exposure limits for wireless radiation are based on the assumption that the radiation can harm human health ONLY at levels high enough to heat human tissue. Cellphones emit radiation at levels lower than that.” https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/cellphone-radiation-abnormal-blood-cells-rouleaux-formation/? So an entire category of biological effects from RF energy has been denied consideration by the FCC. It is now imperative that the FCC fully consider evidence and real-world experiences concerning ALL possible types of health and environmental impacts of wireless radiation. Personally I have been dismayed that for many years the FCC has refused to update their decades old “safety standards” for RF exposure, clinging to “thermal effects” as the only possible harmful impact on living beings. Yet a government funded review of 2300 studies done before 1971 found a plethora of biological effects. https://www.emfanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Naval-Medical-Research-Institute-2300-Studies-on-EMF-Health-Effects.pdf In this comment I will focus on my own individual personal experience related to symptoms listed in that bibliography such as sleep disturbance; lens of eye (cataractous lesions)/ lens opacity and coagulation; blood disorders; blood oxygen content resulting from EMF/RF exposure; hypertension. SLEEP DISTURBANCE Some time after forced installation of smart meters on both my household electrical system and natural gas system, I began to notice a strange pattern. I would wake up from deep sleep at precisely the same time every night. (For a long while it was 4:14 am.) It mattered not what time I had gotten to bed nor how tired I had been, etc. Just a peculiar waking up at exactly the same moment every night, often with heart arrhythmia or racing heartbeat. And then having great difficulty getting back to sleep. This became very tiresome and took a serious toll on my health and well-being. I believe some researchers have found a way to trace when smart meters release some sort of energy blast that could cause such a sleep disturbance. There is nothing inside my home that would generate an “alarm” waking me every night, so I have had to question other possible sources and smart meters are a likely suspect. The exact repetitive timing of waking points to an automated system. EYE LENS IMPACTS From 2016 t0 2026 I did a tremendous amount of volunteer computer work for an organization I supported. Over time I became convinced intuitively that this extensive screen time was damaging my eyes, as my sight became more and more blurry until I could not use the computer without wearing glasses. Previously I had only ever worn glasses for distance vision while driving or at movie theatres. I was eventually diagnosed with serious cataracts and have had to pay for cataract replacement surgery. I found an explanation by Dr. Tom Cowan of the mechanism by which RF and the light from screens deteriorates the eyesight--thus confirming my intuition. BLOOD DISORDERS In 2006 and 2007 I had live blood cell analysis done out of curiosity to explore ways to enhance my health. There were no Rouleaux Formations visible in my blood sample (when red blood cells stack together like coins). During that period in my life I had no cell phone. Smart meters were not installed in my area until 2010-2012. As of then no cell towers had been erected nearby. In 2021 I returned for another live blood cell analysis and my red blood cells were all clumped in Rouleaux Formation. This was extremely alarming as that can impact blood flow and circulation and put one at risk for high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack. At that point I had owned a cell phone since 2017 and generally tried to avoid it, keeping it as far from my body as possible and touching it as little as possible. When away from home I carried it in the back of my knapsack, not immediately on my body. (But I needed to bring it with me to the blood test in order to get in the door.) I wish to point to several studies that have been done that tie Rouleaux formation in the blood to EMF/RF: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/cellphone-radiation-abnormal-blood-cells-rouleaux-formation/? “RBCs that are stuck together in Rouleaux or other aggregates increase the blood viscosity, and this affects the passage of RBC through the microvessels throughout the body.13 RBC shape and deformability are also relevant to blood flow. The typical round disk shape of normal RBCs is considered optimum for blood flow. The shape of the echinocytes might impair blood flow and oxygen release from echinocytes is known to be impaired.14” https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/does-short-term-exposure-to-cell-phone-radiation-affect-the-blood/#gsc.tab=0 BREATH AND OXYGEN CARRIAGE IN BLOOD The fact sheet on Rouleaux Formation produced by Environmental Health Trust also notes that “blood may not carry oxygen efficiently”. I have been noticing in the last few years that when I hike uphill I “huff and puff”, getting out of breath more than would seem appropriate for my otherwise good health and exercise habits. I have puzzled about that. (Typically when hiking I have my cellphone in my knapsack or backpack, which according to the research I have just cited, could be generating Rouleaux Formation in my blood while I am hiking.) It definitely feels as though, in spite of breathing strongly, I am not getting enough oxygen. “…clumped blood cells flow less easily and thus can impact oxygen delivery throughout the body.” (Study published in February 2025, conducted by Dr. Robert R. Brown, Vice President of Scientific Research and Clinical Affairs at EHT) HYPERTENSION I purchased my first cell phone mid 2017. In 2018 my blood pressure was within “normal” range—since then it has continually crept up, as has my cell phone usage. Research suggests a correlation. I don’t have wifi in my home, choosing to use ethernet connections instead to minimize EMF/RF exposure. However as I write at least 10 of my neighbor’s wifi systems are impinging on my inside space. My neighbor’s smart meter is just across the driveway from where my head is when I sleep…There is a cell tower approximately 3 blocks away in one direction and another about the same distance in the other direction. I am not happy about any of these RF sources but can not control them.. Do I hear the reader saying “These are all normal symptoms of aging”? Are they, or have they just been “normalized” because of the omnipresence of RF/EMF impacting our health? DATA CENTERS And now Data centers are trying to gain a foothold EVERYWHERE including in crowded communities such as mine. These emit RFs / EMFs and can have a serious impact on neighbors—or some say, on everyone within a several mile radius. Do we want to choose this as a culture? to create “sacrifice zones” that are uninhabitable by anyone concerned with health? CONCLUSION The FCC should take a Precautionary Principle position about RF/EMF safety standards. I have presented many of my own health issues that COULD be impacts from RF/EMF. Indeed research has pointed to most of them as potentially “caused” by RF/EMF. It is difficult to prove causality of anything—but if our goal is to support health in the general population and lessen healthcare spending, then we need more stringent RF safety standards..","attachments":[],"attachment_names":[],"attachment_inventory":true,"withheld":false,"source":"https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filing/26110083127","filing_type":"COMMENT","proceedings":"ET 13-84","capture_reviewed":false,"captured_at":"2026-10-22T17:59:30.922Z","supplied_classification":null,"tags":["school-connectivity","health-experiences","sleep-neurology","towers-antennas","wifi-devices","wired-alternatives","standards-testing","remand-accountability","research-requests"],"source_hash":"a593895c6217a26837d296bf24da3e88ca5523cb3ed5b00d36e7445034863111","slug":"school-connectivity-filing-26110083127","classification":{"id":"26110083127","body_sha256":"8372de76e60b7fafbe462750169767b0dfde55b36ca4ad530e5d6c60f9aacb91","status":"text_matched","primary_topic":"school-connectivity","topics":[{"id":"school-connectivity","evidence":"There is nothing inside my home that would generate an “alarm” waking me every night, so I have had to question other possible sources and smart meters are a likely suspect."},{"id":"health-experiences","evidence":"https://www.emfanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Naval-Medical-Research-Institute-2300-Studies-on-EMF-Health-Effects.pdf In this comment I will focus on my own individual personal experience related to symptoms listed in that bibliography such as sleep disturbance; lens of eye (cataractous lesions)/ lens opacity and coagulation; blood disorders; blood oxygen content resulting from EMF/RF exposure; hypertension."},{"id":"sleep-neurology","evidence":"https://www.emfanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Naval-Medical-Research-Institute-2300-Studies-on-EMF-Health-Effects.pdf In this comment I will focus on my own individual personal experience related to symptoms listed in that bibliography such as sleep disturbance; lens of eye (cataractous lesions)/ lens opacity and coagulation; blood disorders; blood oxygen content resulting from EMF/RF exposure; hypertension."},{"id":"towers-antennas","evidence":"As of then no cell towers had been erected nearby."},{"id":"wifi-devices","evidence":"SLEEP DISTURBANCE Some time after forced installation of smart meters on both my household electrical system and natural gas system, I began to notice a strange pattern."},{"id":"wired-alternatives","evidence":"I don’t have wifi in my home, choosing to use ethernet connections instead to minimize EMF/RF exposure."},{"id":"standards-testing","evidence":"However, “The Federal Communications Commission’s safety exposure limits for wireless radiation are based on the assumption that the radiation can harm human health ONLY at levels high enough to heat human tissue."},{"id":"remand-accountability","evidence":"In 2021 I returned for another live blood cell analysis and my red blood cells were all clumped in Rouleaux Formation."},{"id":"research-requests","evidence":"Yet a government funded review of 2300 studies done before 1971 found a plethora of biological effects."}],"summary":"","method":"Local topic rules v1; exact supporting passages; not an AI or medical review","scope":"Captured filing text only. Attachment contents not examined."},"forum_topics":["school-connectivity","health-experiences","sleep-neurology","towers-antennas","wifi-devices","wired-alternatives","standards-testing","remand-accountability","research-requests"],"primary_topic":"school-connectivity","forum_title":"It is known that RF energy is dangerous when it heats tissue, so keeping exposure below the heating thres…"}